Research project: Alan Sorrell project

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Alan Sorrell (1904-1974) was an artist best known for his reconstruction drawings of historic sites and monuments, and tableaux of ancient life. His distinctive style — with contrasts of light and dark, and threateningly stormy or unstable backdrops — was carefully researched for accuracy, and has proven inspirational both to archaeologists and the broader public.

Project Overview

Under the direction of Professor Matthew Johnson, and with the research support of Sara Perry, this project represents a pilot study of the archive of Alan Sorrell, currently on loan to the Society of Antiquaries of London by his family. Never before subject to systematic investigation, the archive is populated primarily by artwork produced for Sorrell’s books, alongside accompanying sketches, correspondence, and working notes and drawings.

During the mid-20th century, Sorrell produced defining images of many of Britain’s most renowned archaeological sites, and in so doing, arguably helped to transform the institutional and intellectual dimensions of British archaeology. With a neo-Romantic sensibility and a career that included employment by the former Ministry of Works, he stands at the junction of a series of potent conceptual concerns in the discipline — between art and archaeology; academic and broader public consumption; discipline and imagination; scholarship and governmental establishment.

Matthew and Sara are keen to hear from those who might have worked with or have memories of Sorrell. Please contact Sara for further details on the project or to share recollections.

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Project images:

Annotations by Alan Sorrell and others overlaying Sorrell’s working drawing of the site of Athelhampton (near Dorchester, Dorset, UK). Image reproduced with the kind permission of the Sorrell family.Working drawing of the site of Athelhampton (near Dorchester, Dorset, UK) by Alan Sorrell. Image reproduced with the kind permission of the Sorrell family.